Jose Reyes’ four-hit night led the way for the Mets 8-5 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon. Dillon Gee pitched six productive innings in his home state, bouncing back from his last start for his 8th victory on the year. The Mets take the series in Arlington and make their way back to .500 on the season.

Reyes always finds a way to get his uniform dirty.

Getty Images

My Reaction:

I stated last week that facing the Texas Rangers offense would be a huge test for Dillon Gee. That being said, I was very impressed by how he handled them. Outside of some first inning trouble, he manufactured outs very well. He was able to get the big outs by yielding ground balls. Through his first 17 starts, I’ve decided that Gee belongs in the major leagues as a starter. I see him as a number three in the rotation at best, but believe he has the ability to dominate any game with his Glavine-like approach.

The Jose Reyes debate is the toughest decision that has ever faced me as a Mets fan. It gets even harder with every triple he hits. Reyes had another four-hit game tonight and scored three times. He is such a catalyst at the top of the lineup that it almost seems ludicrous to discuss trading him. The argument could be made that he is the most exciting player in all of baseball. However, his success in 2011 may have been the worst thing that could happen to Sandy Alderson and the Mets. Reyes has stated that he wants Carl Crawford money and, from the way he’s played this season, it is very likely that he will get it. As much as it pains me to say it, it makes the most sense to see what type of package he commands on the market right now, understanding that we cannot invest a ton of money in one player in the current financial state of the team. If he can return a few top prospects, the Mets need to jump on that deal.

I still don’t understand why Terry Collins continually throws Francisco Rodriguez out in non-save situations, in which he struggles to over a 6.00 ERA. This may not have been his last run in Texas for the season. It is very likely that the shorted-bullpen Texas Rangers will have interest in trading for him as a closer, while moving Neftali Feliz to the setup role. Remember, K-Rod affirmed that he would consider waiving his option for a new contract.

Interesting Facts:

Jose Reyes leads the majors with 14 triples and the National League with 61 runs and a .341 batting average.

Daniel Murphy is hitting .500 (9 for 18) over his current five-game hitting streak.

Comments

Met ownership must decide whether they want to deal with fan backlash now or later, assuming that they lose Reyes. If they deal Reyes before July 31st, the fans will stop showing up. If they don’t deal Reyes, the sentiment to re-sign Reyes will continue to grow as the season winds down and into the off-season.

The team’s best bet is to hold onto Reyes and see what happens in the off-season. I’ve argued this point so many times, but the package that the Mets would get back for Reyes won’t be very good. You almost have to assume that the team that trade for him will solely view him as a rental. The Mets may get two mid-level prospects.

Concerning ownership, maybe something will happen and the Wilpons will be forced to sell the team to Einhorn and he coughs up the dough to keep Reyes. The Met ownership lives day-to-day and Met fans have to hope for a potential Wilpon sale if they want to keep Reyes.

Unless they can find some package that offers ace-like pitching in return (unlikely), they have to hold on to Reyes. Dealing for prospects is always a gamble because you don’t know for sure what you’re getting, but we already know that Reyes is a legitimate franchise player. Obviously, there are contracts they need to shed that they could get some return for (Beltran, K-Rod). But letting a talent like Reyes go in his prime (he’s 28) would be a mistake, not to mention a PR disaster. Like Matt said, hold onto him, then see where it goes in the offseason. Even if he walks, they’ll get draft picks anyway.

Well let’s say that Reyes commands a similar package that Holliday returned back in the 2009 when he was traded from Oakland to St. Louis with his contract expiring at the end of the season. His stats at the time were not as MVP-like as Jose Reyes is today. Oakland received Brett Wallace, Clayton Mortensen, and Shane Peterson. We know how Wallace turned out. Mortensen just hit the majors big this season and is pitching to a 3.33 ERA in the Rockies system. Peterson is still working his way through the Oakland system at 23 years old. I’d do any deal similar to this return rather than take my chances in a draft. Thats just me, though.

Disclaimer

By no means do we take credit for the images displayed on this site. All logos/intellectual property belong to the cited author/web site. We are not affiliated with any of the aforementioned professional teams, leagues or associations.
Banner Photo Credit: http://www.iaes.org/
conferences/future/newyork_60/cityinfo/